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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26908090">Memories Buried in the Snow</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmegaWolf747/pseuds/Aelita_Angel'>Aelita_Angel (OmegaWolf747)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Code Lyoko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Flashbacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovered Memories, Switzerland</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:54:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,435</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26908090</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmegaWolf747/pseuds/Aelita_Angel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeremie and Aelita are to spend the weekend at a chalet in Switzerland. Why is Aelita acting so strangely? Should Jeremie be worried?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jeremie Belpois/Aelita Schaeffer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Journey in the Snow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Swiss Alps<br/>
</em>
  <em>January, 2012 </em>
</p><p>It had been a long straight shot south-east from Paris into Switzerland going to the great mountains. The sky was overcast by iron gray clouds, from which a steady but thankfully light precipitation of snow descended to blanket the land all in white.</p><p>Jeremie peered out the window at the bleak, snowy landscape that surrounded their little rental car as Aelita drove them slowly over the slick road. With a sigh, he thought about their reason for being here: a highly exclusive powwow of techie types and computer geeks that they had been invited to. Their double Nobel Prizes last month had thrust them to the forefront of the tech world, resulting in this most recent invitation.</p><p>‘<em>But why have this thing in the Alps?’</em> Jeremie fumed as he hunkered down into his sweatshirt and coat, glad the heater was on full blast.</p><p>He turned his gaze to Aelita, who had fallen strangely silent after they had entered Switzerland. Her entire mind seemed to be on the journey, which was a good thing given the conditions. But still, she hadn’t cracked a smile or uttered a single word. This was what was troubling Jeremie.</p><p>“Crazy weather in this country. I’m so glad we live in sunny France,” he tried.</p><p>Aelita didn’t even nod.</p><p>‘<em>OK…’ </em>thought Jeremie, lapsing back into silence once again.</p><p>They drove on for a while… until Aelita suddenly slammed on the brakes, causing the car to skid to the side. Even though he was buckled in, Jeremie still braced himself by gripping the dashboard. Fortunately, since they hadn’t been moving very fast, it didn’t go off the road. But this was enough to make Jeremie worry.</p><p>“Aelita?!” he asked, looking at her in alarm.</p><p>“A vision,” Aelita answered shortly. “This road, but not this time.”</p><p>This was cause for concern. Aelita had been haunted by visions and nightmares for the first two years after her arrival in the real world. They hadn’t really tapered off until after XANA’s defeat. When she had them, they were violent and brutal, striking her where she stood, making her cry out, and leaving her trembling like a leaf when they dissipated. Why would they reassert themselves now?</p><p>“Maybe I’d better drive the rest of the way,” Jeremie suggested.</p><p>With a sigh, Aelita unbuckled her belt. It wouldn’t do for them to go flying off the road if another vision seized her. The two quickly changed spots and Jeremie started them forward again. He looked over at Aelita, who sat slumped over, head leaning against the window as she gazed listlessly outside. She seemed to have withdrawn into herself again, so Jeremie looked forward and concentrated on his driving for the time being.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Memories of Long Ago</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The memories the old house contains call out to Aelita. An old box hidden in a closet may contain the final answers she has been seeking.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jeremie followed the GPS for the rest of the drive, turning where he must… until at last, it sprung into sight: a large wooden chalet, flanked by pines and banked in snow. The house was two stories tall with stairs and a long balcony on the second story.</p><p>At the sight of the house, Aelita stirred for the first time since they had switched places. She leaned forward and stared at that building, as one in a thrall.</p><p>“Here we are. Kind of a pretty place, isn’t it?” smiled Jeremie, by way of lightening the strange atmosphere.</p><p>Without acknowledging her husband, Aelita unbuckled, opened the door and exited the car. She stood in the falling snow, looking all around her, taking everything in. Then, she began walking slowly forward.</p><p>“Aelita!” Jeremie called, deeply troubled by his wife’s strange behavior.</p><p>He quickly killed the engine and got out to follow her. He watched as Aelita walked up to the chalet’s front door, fished out the key they had been sent, and opened it. Jeremie ran to catch up with her, cursing the deep snow with each step. Finally, he made it through the front door,, shutting and locking it behind him, cutting out the cold of the outdoors.</p><p>The inside was a cheerful atmosphere, well furnished with all the creature comforts, yet unmistakably rustic.</p><p>Jeremie tried the light switch and thankfully, the overhead light came on.</p><p>"I'll make a fire!" he announced by way of dissipating the lingering weirdness in the atmosphere.</p><p>Aelita walked slowly away without a word to Jeremie, as though she were being lured in by the house itself.</p><p>‘<em>Like at the Hermitage,’</em> he thought vaguely.</p><p>He watched after Aelita, but decided to leave her be, for now. She would come to him when she was ready, as she always did. For now, Jeremie concentrated on putting the logs into the fire, then lighting the match. Soon, he had a fire going to chase away the lingering cold.</p><hr/><p>Aelita walked slowly through the house. With each look at a room, flashes came to her in more rapid succession and with trebled clarity. Though the furnishings were different, the rooms themselves had changed but little. She mounted the stairs slowly, but with purpose. At the end of the hall on the right, was a door, which opened to reveal a small bedroom.</p><p>Aelita blinked and suddenly, it was transformed into a child’s room with light pink walls and curtains covering the windows, filled with a little girl's toys: stuffed animals, a few dolls, books, and a small bed with a pink blanket and pillow. Aelita blinked her eyes and the room was back to its present state. Closing the door, she left the room to itself.</p><p>Across the hall, another door opened to reveal the larger master bedroom. Aelita blinked and saw the bed and furnishings that had been forgotten to her for almost 20 years. Lying in the bed were a man with a gray mustache and a woman with pink hair and green irises like her own. The woman looked over at her and smiled.</p><p>Aelita blinked and the room was empty again. Tears blurred her vision and her throat tightened up, her breath hitching out in a strangled sob. Guided by some unexplained compulsion, she stepped into the room and made a beeline for the closet, whose door she wrenched open with nearly enough force to pull it from its hinges. Through the veil of tears, she looked… until she saw it, a small cut-out in the farthest back corner of the closet.</p><p>Kneeling, Aelita pulled at the bit of wall that stood between her and what she was after. It gave way easily enough, revealing a small box ensconced in the wall for over 20 years. She pulled the box out and removed the lid.</p><p>Inside were many old papers, cards, and most importantly… photos of either the bespectacled man or the pink haired woman, each taken by the other. The final one she saw was the man and woman posing with each other for a timed shot before the cabin, the woman’s hands caressing her swollen belly, a small contented smile upon her face.</p><p>Aelita let the photos slip unheeded to the floor as a fresh wave of emotion broke over her. She lowered her head and sobbed brokenly into her hands, her entire frame shaking with each hitching, broken breath she took.</p><p>Through her haze of agony, she didn’t hear the footsteps behind her. Didn’t realize she was no longer alone until she felt those gentle, familiar arms encircle her from behind. She turned, wrapped her arms around Jeremie’s waist and began sobbing with abandon into his sweatshirt while he held her close.</p><p>Poor Jeremie was utterly taken aback by Aelita’s present state. He had seen her in the throes of her melancholies and had held her when she cried many times throughout their relationship, but not since finding out of her mother’s death years ago had she broken down this completely.</p><p>Closing his eyes on his own tears, Jeremie rested his chin on the crown of Aelita’s head as he began gently rubbing her back and stroking her thick, soft hair with both hands, familiar gestures that he knew would soothe her… eventually. This was going to take a while.</p><p>Jeremie remained silent as he held Aelita close and continued his gentle ministrations on her. His heart mulled a thousand questions, but now was neither the time nor the place for them. The only thing that mattered was comforting Aelita through whatever was distressing her.</p><p>Finally, after an indeterminate length of time, Jeremie felt the tension begin to drain out of Aelita’s body. Her sobs grew fewer and farther between and her grip around his waist slackened. Finally, he felt her go completely limp in his arms, breath soft and even in sleep, utterly spent.</p><p>Only now did Jeremie dare try to take stock of things. She had been acting strangely distant practically since their arrival in Switzerland. With each passing mile toward this chalet, the strangeness of her behavior had grown, until reaching the crescendo they had just endured. When he looked down at the floor, Jeremie saw the pictures lying in careless disarray around the small box.</p><p>Moving slowly and carefully, he picked them up and looked through them. He immediately recognized the mustachioed and bespectacled visage of Franz Hopper staring at him from out of the pictures. And the pink haired woman with the familiar emerald irises was unmistakable!</p><p>‘<em>Franz and Anthea Hopper!’</em> he thought. <em>‘Oh, my god! I don’t believe in fate or anything like that, but somehow… Poor Aelita…’</em></p><p>Moving slowly and carefully, Jeremie shifted their positions so that he was able to pick Aelita up in his arms bridal style, then rose to his feet. Fortunately, Aelita was tiny and very light, so he was able to do so without throwing out his back. Jeremie carried Aelita over to the large bed and gently deposited her upon the mattress.</p><p>Jeremie began the careful process of undressing Aelita so she could sleep more comfortably. He moved slowly and carefully as he worked. This proved unnecessary though, as she never stirred, even as Jeremie manipulated her limbs.</p><p>‘<em>Wow! She’s totally out,’</em> he thought worriedly. <em>‘I just hope she’ll be OK. My poor angel…’</em></p><p>Jeremie covered Aelita in the thick blanket to let her sleep and hopefully recover. This done, he returned to the closet and put all the photos and papers back into the small box. He then picked up the box and brought it over to the bedside table. This was Aelita’s and she should be the one to decide what to do with it.</p><p>Finally, he stepped out of his boots and stretched out next to his sleeping princess. Jeremie pulled the blanket over both of them, then wrapped Aelita up in a protective embrace. He then shut his eyes and let his mind drift.</p><hr/><p>Dreams of days gone by arose unbidden before their minds.</p><p>Aelita dreamed of running about in the forest behind the house, of her parents’ admonitions never to wander too far away. Red deer peeked out from among the trees at her. Squirrels peered curiously from their holes.</p><p>Snow came and with it, scratching out snow angels in its depths, rolling balls to make snowmen, drinking hot cocoa inside in the evenings. There was a large pine tree decorated with various bulbs and lights with festively wrapped packages at its base.</p><p>“Oh, he’s so cute! I love him. What should I call him?”</p><p>“How about Mister Puck, which means ‘elf’.”</p><p>“Do you like him?”</p><p>“Oh, yes! Thank you, Mommy!”</p><p>Meanwhile, Jeremie dreamed of switching on a computer in an ancient factory and being gobsmacked by the sight of a delicate looking young woman with bewitching pink hair staring back at him from out of the screen. From almost that moment, he knew he must do everything he could to have her by his side and in his arms.</p><p>The scanner opened and there she lay, innocent and fragile as a newborn lamb. Her eyes opened, revealing bright, intelligent, yet entirely guileless green irises as she smiled up at him, face to face for the first time in this world.</p><p>She lay on the cold steel floor of the computer room with the silent machine looming over her. He had to be quick! The machine roared back to life and he pulled her into his arms, praying to the universe that he wasn’t too late.</p><p>“Aelita! Answer me! C’mon! Wake up!”</p><p>When her pain fogged eyes opened and she took a hitching breath, he held her close and choked back a sob.</p><p>“You’re insane! Why did you do that?!”</p><p>“To save the world… To save you all…” she managed to gasp out.</p><p>“We’ll save it together. Then you’ll have your whole life in front of you; a brand new life!”</p><p>“Noooo!” Jeremie cried, watching helplessly as the Scyphozoa drained the last of Aelita’s life from her, before dropping her carelessly to the ground. “Aelita’s deeeeaaaad!!!!”</p><p>The four could only watch as Lyoko died along with its keeper, facilitating XANA’s escape to the greater Internet. Just when all seemed lost, a glowing entity appeared, lifted Aelita into the air and restored to her what had been lost. Jeremie’s joy knew no bounds as Aelita began to move again.</p><p>He was there at the scanner to catch her as she collapsed into his arms, her humanity fully restored to her, entirely free of XANA and Lyoko.</p><p>Happy times. An angel soaring aloft on pink wings and shooting energy from her hands.</p><p>The sure and steady captain of an underwater vessel named for Freyr’s great longboat.</p><p>Sad times. A young musician not understanding why he would rather spend his days at his computer than come to her debut.</p><p>The grand battle. The life of Waldo Schaeffer faded away with the flying mantas’ lasers as he gave his last strength over to power the multiagent program his daughter was trying to launch. As Aelita watched helplessly, her father faded from existence, this time forever.</p><hr/><p>Jeremie sighed as he felt fingers caressing his head, pulling him from his dreams of long ago. His eyes opened to reveal a pair of soft green irises staring at him.</p><p>“Lita…” he asked as he watched her, uncertain of what to expect. “Are you OK? If you want, we can get another place…”</p><p>He was silenced by Aelita’s index finger, pressing against his lips. Aelita picked up the box from the nightstand and opened it. Jeremie watched her in equal parts fascination and dreadful anticipation of another emotional breakdown. Aelita glanced up at him and patted the spot right next to her. At this invitation, Jeremie snuggled up next to Aelita, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a comforting squeeze.</p><p>Grateful for Jeremie’s support, Aelita once again went through the box’s contents: all the old photos, love letters and other assorted papers. Many times, Aelita would feel her emotions beginning to break again and would need to stop and rest in Jeremie’s arms for a bit before she could start again.</p><p>As they did this, Jeremie found himself getting to know Waldo and Anthea Schaeffer in a way he would’ve never thought possible. Their photos and letters were truly windows into the world of their departed souls. The best of all were Anthea’s old diaries, full of love for Waldo, and later on for baby “Lita”. Details of her first time crawling, first steps, and first words filled the pages, causing Aelita to tear up and Jeremie to smile at the thought of Aelita as a tiny child.</p><p>“Your mom was so pretty,” Jeremie noted. “I totally see where you got your looks from.”</p><p>Aelita fixed Jeremie with a sad smile at that compliment.</p><p>When everything had been gone through and put away, Aelita lay still in Jeremie’s arms, face damp with tears, but her lips quirked up in a small smile that gave Jeremie hope after a day spent worrying about her emotional state.</p><p>“I’ve come home,” she said, the words barely more than a whisper.</p><p>“I was never a believer in fate, but of all the chalets in Switzerland…” Jeremie began.</p><p>He was silenced by Aelita’s lips suddenly crashing into his. Jeremie’s eyes widened at this unexpected display of affection, but he recovered quickly and eagerly returned it, wrapping his arms around her waist.</p><p>The next few hours were spent in the passion of their gentle and drawn-out lovemaking. Feelings were exchanged physically, vows of devotion, protection, and cooperation were renewed on a spiritual level. When they reached their completion, they lay wrapped in each other’s arms, intertwined until it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.</p><p>The two remained thus for the rest of the night, drifting in and out of consciousness, dreaming of their future together under sunny blue skies, with gentle breezes at their backs and soft grass under their feet; the silent contentment of being together, surrounded by the memories of a distant past.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Frolic in the Snow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A gentle snowfall through the night has cast the mantle of oblivion on the howling wilderness of last night. The bright sun and blue sky beckon our young lovers outdoors to partake of the winter wilderness.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aelita's eyelids fluttered open, drawn by the light of the new dawn pouring in through the window, lightening her heart. The howling wilderness of last night had been transformed into a bright, sunny day beckoning to her from outside.</p>
<p>Moving with renewed energy, she stretched her body out slowly, then rose. After quickly dressing in new clothes, she turned her attention to the blond still sprawled out asleep on the bed. There was one surefire way to awaken him.</p>
<p>Aelita headed down to the kitchen and got to work on breakfast for both of them, stomach feeling quite hollow since she hadn’t bothered to eat last night. Toasted bread was spread with butter, cheese was added as well, plus cereal in milk, to be chased by good, strong coffee for both of them.</p>
<p>The morning sun’s bright rays streamed in through the window, penetrating the veneer of Jeremie’s eyelids.</p>
<p>‘<em>Damn sun!’</em> he thought sourly as he prepared to roll over and go back to sleep.</p>
<p>That is, until the unmistakable scent of toasted bread piqued his olfactory lobe. His stomach cramped and rumbled, pointedly reminding him that he hadn’t eaten last night. Abandoning all thoughts of sleep, Jeremie rose, quickly changed into fresh clothes, then hied himself downstairs before the toast could cool.</p>
<p>Jeremie reached the kitchen to see Aelita just sitting down at the table, his place already set for him. With a silent smile between them, the young couple tucked into their respective breakfasts.</p>
<p>“Jeremie,” Aelita spoke up after a while spent eating in silence.</p>
<p>Jeremie looked up from his cereal.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry for worrying you yesterday,” Aelita said simply, gazing steadily into his eyes.</p>
<p>“Wha? No. You have nothing to be sorry for,” Jeremie quickly protested. “I can’t imagine what you were feeling last night. I don’t know how it’d feel to suddenly…”</p>
<p>He trailed off, heart clenching in mortal dread of upsetting her all over again by dredging up too much of last night.</p>
<p>With a small smile, Aelita reached out and caressed Jeremie’s hand.</p>
<p>“Thank you for understanding, darling,” she said softly before retreating into her breakfast yet again.</p>
<p>When they finished, they took their dishes to the sink to wash later. Jeremie was about to retreat to his laptop, when Aelita grabbed his hand and began tugging him over to where they had discarded their coats last night.</p>
<p>‘<em>Oh, no,’</em> he thought as Aelita led him to the front door.</p>
<p>She unlocked the door, pushed it open and stepped out into the glorious vault of blue sky under which the snow crystals sparkled like miniature diamonds.</p>
<p>It was even colder now than yesterday!</p>
<p>‘<em>That’s one thing that’s totally different between us: she loves the cold and I hate it,’</em> Jeremie thought, half-minded to just retreat indoors and hunker down with his laptop.</p>
<p>That was, until Aelita gave a goodly tug and yanked him along behind her.</p>
<p>“Ah!” Jeremie yelped, though he made no attempt to pull away.</p>
<p>Aelita led Jeremie out onto the snowy field that surrounded the chalet, broken up only by the driveway. Through the snow they romped, Aelita leading Jeremie into the copse of pine trees that resided behind the chalet.</p>
<p>Only now did Aelita slow their pace down, permitting them to walk among the stately evergreens, their steps cushioned by a carpet of soft brown needles. Jeremie’s olfactory sense was overtaken by the sharp scent of pine on a cold winter’s day. Among the trees they weaved till they came to the edge of the little glen, which opened out onto a wide snow field.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Aelita released Jeremie’s hand and burst from his side, running out onto the field, seeming to fly over the snow. Jeremie scratched his head as he watched her. Finally, he slowly made his way out, feet sinking into the deep snow. He lowered his gaze to watch his footsteps so that he wouldn’t end up faceplanting.</p>
<p>
  <em>SPLAT!</em>
</p>
<p>Jeremie’s glasses were knocked off as he received a face-full of snow from his loving, kindhearted wife.</p>
<p>“Ah! Aelita!” Jeremie yelped in bemusement. <em>‘If she thinks I won’t give her payback, she’s sorely mistaken.’</em></p>
<p>After retrieving his glasses, Jeremie knelt down and packed his own snowball, which he lobbed at Aelita.</p>
<p>Aelita however, had been watching him the whole time, easily dodged, and lobbed another snowball, which hit Jeremie in the left shoulder.</p>
<p>Jeremie again packed a snowball and threw it, only to miss her by a mile and receive one on the rump for his efforts.</p>
<p>“Quit dodging around!” he cried in consternation.</p>
<p>“Well, you don’t expect me to just stand around waiting, do you?” Aelita replied saucily.</p>
<p>“Yeagh!” Jeremie yelled as he launched himself at Aelita, succeeding in catching her and sending them both tumbling down into the white drifts of snow.</p>
<p>An impromptu wrestling match now ensued, a laughing Jeremie and Aelita rolled over each other and thoroughly caked themselves in cold, white delight. Somewhere in the melee, Jeremie’s glasses were again ejected from his face. This time, he took scant notice, much more interested in the pink haired woman now dumping some snow down the back of his coat.</p>
<p>“Ae-LEE-tah!” he yelped, feeling cold trailing down his spine.</p>
<p>Jeremie grabbed for her, missed by a mile as she sprang to her feet and loped away over the snow, and succeeded only in face-planting once again.</p>
<p>
  <em>SMUP… </em>
</p>
<p>Jeremie lifted his snow-caked face to see Aelita all the way over on the other side of the field now, beginning to roll a large snowball.</p>
<p>‘<em>To throw at me, I suppose,’</em> the blond thought as he groped about for his glasses.</p>
<p>Ah! There they were. After putting them on, he saw that Aelita now had a very sizable snowball, far too big for her to pick up and throw. This one in place, she was already rolling a second one. She stopped for a moment, looked over at Jeremie and vigorously beckoned him over to her.</p>
<p>Jeremie took off as fast as he could, moving clumsily through the snow as it seemed to always cave in under his boots and drag him down.</p>
<p>By the time he reached Aelita, she had the second snowball mounted on the first and was already rolling a third smaller one. By now, Jeremie had deduced what she was doing. He immediately did his part by ducking into the surrounding woods and returning with two long sticks.</p>
<p>Each of them took a stick and stuck it into either side of the snowman. Alas, there was no coal for eyes, nor a carrot for a nose, but gloved fingers could just as easily trace a smiley face onto his head. Aelita removed her scarf and Jeremie his hat, which they draped onto their newly made friend, thus completing him.</p>
<p>They stood side by side, admiring their creation, before whipping out their phones and snapping several shots, of the snowman alone, then of each other with him, and finally a timed shot of all three together.</p>
<p>Aelita grabbed Jeremie’s hand and led him back into the forest, walking much farther and deeper than their foray among the pine trees. Jeremie had the feeling that Aelita knew the way by heart, as she walked with confidence in her stride, never once stopping to look about for landmarks or the direction of the sun.</p>
<p>As they walked, Jeremie saw movement in the distance among the trees.</p>
<p>“Lita!” he said in a dropped voice. “Over there.”</p>
<p>The two stopped and stared. Aelita’s breath caught in her throat at the sight of a trio of red deer: a doe and her two yearling fawns, as they moved slowly about the forest, stripping bark from trees as their only winter food.</p>
<p>Jeremie slowly pulled out his phone, fired up the camera, zoomed in as far as he could, and managed to get a decent shot of the three deer, which he promptly forwarded to Aelita.</p>
<p>After a bit, the deer moved deeper into the forest in their search for food. Aelita and Jeremie continued on their way, Jeremie wondering where she was leading him. After a much longer time spent walking, the sound of trickling water began to filter into their hearing.</p>
<p>Soon the treeline ended, revealing a merrily babbling brook, the sun’s light refracted on its cascading surface. The water was so clean and clear that the bottom was readily visible, populated with many small, smooth stones. Along its banks were several large rocks. The young couple stood side by side, taking in the natural splendor.</p>
<p>“Wow! It’s really pretty!” gasped Jeremie.</p>
<p>“My parents used to bring me here,” was all Aelita said.</p>
<p>Jeremie nodded, daring say no more. Instead, they went and sat down on some of the rocks overlooking the river, content to rest for a bit after their long sylvan stroll. As they sat, they took in the hushed stillness of nature in its winter sleep, infrequently punctuated by a small creature or two scuttling out for a quick drink from the babbling brook before retreating into the bare foliage for its scant shelter.</p>
<p>One of such was a mountain hare, white fur speckled with brown, which emerged from the forest and began nosing about for food, quickly devouring whatever it found. The sight of this made them think of their resident funnyman Odd, who was keeping watch over the Hermitage back in France. This caused a smile to ghost on both their lips as they watched the hare turn and hop slowly back into the forest’s shadowy embrace.</p>
<p>Aelita leaned down and plunged her right hand into the water. She then brought it up and drank the cold, clear water from it.</p>
<p>Upon seeing her eyes light up as the water’s fresh taste hit her tongue, Jeremie made bold to try the same thing, flinching as the icy water hit his bare hand. When he tasted it in his mouth, however, he knew tap and bottled water were forever ruined for him. This was what water was supposed to taste like! One look into Aelita’s laughing green eyes told him she thought the same.</p>
<p>Content, the couple remained sitting on the rocks and watching various animals come and go from the river for the next several hours.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>In the dying sun’s crimson light, the young couple stomped their way back to the chalet, their breath coming out in vapor streams. Hand in hand, they took one last look about the forest and the field with their snowman keeping silent vigil over it, before disappearing into the chalet, which was warmed by the crackling fire.</p>
<p>Inside the house, Aelita decided to take pity on the poor shivering blond man before her. She knew Jeremie wasn’t a huge fan of the cold weather and his spending much of the day outside with her meant the world to her. To that end, she helped Jeremie out of his coat, guided him to the couch, draped a blanket around his shoulders, then retreated into the kitchen to make some genuine Swiss hot cocoa.</p>
<p>Soon, the two of them were sitting on the couch before the hearth, each with a steaming mug in their hands, slowly sipping it, allowing the sweet liquid to warm them from the inside, and each other’s body heat to warm them from the outside.</p>
<p>“Thank you for coming outside with me today,” Aelita spoke up. “I know you don’t enjoy the cold.”</p>
<p>“I actually had fun!” declared Jeremie with a small smile. “You know, until today, I’ve never drunk water straight from a river before.”</p>
<p>Aelita smiled.</p>
<p>The two lapsed into silence after this. As he gazed into the roaring fire, Jeremie ruminated. What had started as a weird, even scary weekend, with Aelita so out of sorts, had morphed into a relaxing fun-filled time, spent getting reacquainted with old memories, playing and romping out of doors, and most importantly, just being together. Best of all, Aelita was back to her usual, happy self again, for which Jeremie was eternally grateful.</p>
<p>The hours ticked slowly by, the last of the sun’s light was completely gone now and the fire was beginning to die out. On the couch, the young couple sat snuggled against each other, arms around each other’s waists, heads resting against each other, fast asleep.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Epilogue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After the tech powwow, Jeremie and Aelita return to France.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jeremie and Aelita awakened, showered and changed, then drove to the tech powwow, where they exchanged ideas and contact info with many different computer programmers, game designers, and hardware inventors, brilliant minds akin to their own, an intellectual high circle that only few could move in.</p><p>Upon returning to the chalet, Jeremie waited until Aelita was engrossed on her laptop, then slipped away, firing off a call to the company that had rented the chalet out for their use.</p><p>“Hi, this is Jeremie Belpois. My wife and I have been staying in your chalet the past two days…” he began.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Next day… </em>
</p><p>Jeremie and Aelita finished stowing their last bags away in the trunk of their rental car. Soon they would be on the road for the long drive west back to Paris. Just as Jeremie was about to get into the car, Aelita held up her phone.</p><p>“Jeremie, come over here for a minute, please,” she called.</p><p>Jeremie joined Aelita, whom he just now noticed had one of the old photos from the box in her hand. She held the photo up, showing the picture of her parents together in front of the chalet. Using it, she found the spot where they had stood together all those years ago. She started her phone’s camera app, then set it for a delayed timer.</p><p>With everything set up, Aelita ran over to join Jeremie, standing just in front of him, with the chalet in the background. Both of them smiled as the phone gave a beep before snapping a photo of them.</p><p>Aelita retrieved the phone and compared the resulting picture to the one of her parents, holding both up for Jeremie to see. The two looked into each other’s eyes, then exchanged a hug before piling into the car for the long drive home.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p><em>Paris<br/></em> <em>The Hermitage</em></p><p>“God, it’s good to be home,” Jeremie declared as he walked inside from parking the car in the garage after letting Aelita out.</p><p>“Hey, Einstein! How was Switzerland?” Odd asked from atop the staircase.</p><p>“Not as bad as I thought it’d be,” was Jeremie’s answer. “You didn’t trash the place while we were gone, did you?”</p><p>“Nope! Oh, a small package arrived for you guys today. It’s on the dining room table,” Odd pointed carelessly in the direction of it.</p><p>“Thanks,” said Jeremie as he picked up the package and opened it.</p><p>Contents in hand, he went upstairs to the computer room, where he found Aelita at her PC, working on some new program or other. Swallowing, he approached her.</p><p>Upon hearing his footsteps, Aelita looked up. Jeremie laid the contents of the package down on her desk: the key to the chalet and a deed, showing her as the house’s new owner. He then stepped respectfully back to await her reaction.</p><p>Aelita lifted up the key, recognizing it instantly and looked at the paper, startled to see her name on it. She looked up into Jeremie’s expectant face, feeling a great warmth well up in her heart, before suffusing her whole being, body and soul.</p><p>Smile bursting onto her features like a sunrise, she rose from her chair, approached Jeremie, then wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close, capturing his lips in a soul searing kiss.</p><p>“I love you, Jeremie Belpois,” she declared.</p><p>With an inward sigh of relief, Jeremie returned her embrace, resting his chin on her shoulder.</p><p>Content, the couple closed their eyes and rested in the moment.</p><p>~Fin~</p>
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